Leaving London
Olympic sanctuary
Illini pick up 20 medals at Paralympics
For some athletes, home is wherever the Olympic Games are held.
SPORTS, 1B
OPINIONS, 4A
The Daily Illini
Monday September 10, 2012
The independent student newspaper at the University of Illinois since 1871
www.DailyIllini.com
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Vol. 142 Issue 16
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C-U SHOWS OFF RAINBOW COLORS
Event aims to recognize LGBT in community BY ZIKE CHENG CONTRIBUTING WRITER
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Lincoln Square Mall was a blur of rainbow colors Saturday as ChampaignUrbana residents celebrated the LGBT community at the third annual C-U Pride Festival. The festival was sponsored by the Uniting Pride Center of Champaign County. Kevin Bowersox-Johnson , center founder and president, said the festival, which was held More online: in Lincoln Square Visit Mall , said the event www. was meant to recDailyIllini.com ognize the contrifor an online butions of lesbiphoto gallery ans and gays to the of the Uniting community. Pride Center “We live here, we of Champaign work here, we play County’s event. here — we contribute a lot to this community,” Bowersox-Johnson said. He said the festival grew into a larger-scale event this year. “Last year, we only had things inside, but this year, we have an outside part, including all kids stuff, a family fun area, outdoor stages and a foam party. These are all new,” he said. The event featured live music on outdoor stages and family entertainment, including carnival games, infl atables and face painting. For Kelly Turner, who attended the festival with her daughter, the family-oriented part of the festival was the most fun. “We do enjoy the outside entertainment facilities for kids,” Turner said. “I brought my 22-month-old girl. She really enjoys the bouncing beds outside.” In addition to outdoor activities, there were workshops, performances and information booths inside the mall.
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See PRIDE FEST, Page 3A
SARI LESK THE DAILY ILLINI
Sorraya Dash, female impersonator, performs at the Champaign-Urbana Pride Festival, held at Lincoln Square Mall on Saturday. The event was hosted by the Uniting Pride Center. Dash has performed drag for about six years.
“Last year, we only had things inside, but this year, we have an outside part, including all kids stuff, a family fun area, outdoor stages and a foam party. These are all new.” KEVIN BOWERSOX-JOHNSON, founder and president of the Uniting Pride Center of Champaign County
Project to improve Boneyard Creek comes in over budget
Police say to keep doors locked after 309 break-in
BY GORDON UTENDAHL STAFF WRITER
After estimates for a beautification project at Boneyard Creek came in $2.5 million over budget, Urbana officials are beginning to look toward cost-cutting alternatives. The Boneyard Creek Improvements Project aims to improve the design and aesthetics of the Urbana-Champaign waterway to include a walkway for local residents and adjacent properties. “Unless we can come up with another money source or continue to work with the contractors in reducing costs, the only thing remaining would be to start eliminating features,” said Dennis Roberts, Ward 5.
BY STEVEN VAZQUEZ STAFF WRITER
Police continue to investigate a burglary that occurred Wednesday night at the Roland Realty apartment complex at 309 E. Green St. During the burglary, a man entered a woman’s apartment while she was showering. The victim had observed the offender kneeling by the tub, trying to look at her. She then yelled at the offender, who then fled. The victim then closed and locked the bathroom door, but the offender again attempted to enter. After the victim continued to scream, the offender left the apartment. According to the police report, the offender also took $45 in cash. Following this incident, University police officers are reminding students to always keep their doors locked and be careful about who drifts in behind them when entering their place of residence. Capt. Skip Frost of University Police said that because the crime did not occur on university property, it did not warrant a Crime-Alert. An advisory was sent out instead via email from the Division of Public Safety. Frost also said the crime was reported
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KELLY HICKEY THE DAILY ILLINI
A Public Safety advisory was issued Thursday to inform students about a burglary that occurred at the 309 East Green Street apartment complex. Following this incident, University police officers are reminding students to always keep their doors locked. to the Champaign Police Department, so it is their case to handle. “Clearly, we realize that this (crime) was close enough to campus that we want to let our students know that ‘Hey, this incident occurred,’” Frost said. “As soon as we became aware of it, we wanted to put that information out.” The advisory also featured pictures of the offender, who was described as “a skinny black male, approximately 20 years of age, 6 foot tall, wearing a red ‘Angry Birds’ ball cap and a red shirt.” The police are hoping to get information from students who might know
about the offender. Lt. Tony Brown of University Police said there is a potential for an updated advisory to be sent out, which would include video footage. “There’s also indications from the video that (the Champaign Police Department) has been able to view that he attempted to get into several other apartments and may have actually accessed those other apartments,” Brown said. Trisha Christakes, resident of the
See 309, Page 3A
Roberts thinks the extraneous aspects of the project, such as the specialty light fi xtures, art motifs in the concrete walls and stone facade, will be the fi rst parts of the project removed from construction plans. “We’re going to regret losing project details at the expense of budget costs,” Roberts said. “The beauty of the walk as we envisioned it through the artist that helped us design it was that it could be unique and include art.” He plans to discuss other methods to reduce project costs during the regular city council meeting Monday.
Gordon can be reached at utendah1@ dailyillini.com.
Champaign police shoot, injure suspect in domestic disturbance DAILY ILLINI STAFF REPORT
The Champaign Police Department is investigating an officer-involved shooting early Sunday morning. Police officers were dispatched around 4:30 a.m. to the 1200 block of Crispus Drive for a domestic disturbance. According to a news release, an armed male subject forced his way into the home. The officers encountered the suspect, shots were fired, and the male subject was injured, according to the release. He was transported to Carle Founda-
tion Hospital. His condition is unknown at this time. “Any incident, in which a use of force of this magnitude is required, is life changing for both the officer and the injured party,” said Champaign police Chief Anthony Cobb in a release. “Our prayers go out to him and his family as well as both officers involved.” The Illinois State Police, along with several other police agencies and the Champaign County state’s attorney, will assist in the investigation.
Po l i c e 2 A | C o r r e c t i o n s 2 A | C a l e n d a r 2 A | O p i n i o n s 4 A | L e t t e r s 4 A | C r o s s w o r d 5 A | C o m i c s 5 A | S p o r t s 1 B | C l a s s i f i e d s 4 B | S u d o k u 4 B